Greg's Second Chance
by CloudwatcherNumbuh7
Summary: Before Rose died she went and found Greg's second chance at a happy ending in a young girl named Dawn. As Dawn grows into a woman she moves to Beach City where she meets her fated soul mate. There is an instant connection but will Greg take a chance of falling in love again? Or will he let the age difference and his fear get in the way?
1. Chapter 1 rewrite

**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE- Hi everyone. I just wanted you all to know that I have rewritten the first five chapter of my story. I went back and fixed grammar mistakes and took a few small parts out to make the story flow better. I hope you all enjoy my slight changes and if you're new to this story I hope you enjoy it. :)**

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Preface- 7 months before Steven was born

POV: Rose

It's official. Greg and I are having a baby. I have never been more excited or terrified in my entire life. Carrying such a precious human being inside me. I am so happy I knew I could die happily which is a good thing because I know the start of our baby's will be the end of mine. I am willingly giving up my life. What terrifies me, is leaving everyone else. Especially after how horribly everyone took the news.

 _My three closest friends gathered around myself and Greg, who was beaming because I had yet to tell him of the sacrifice that was going to have to be made. After the announcement was made all of their faces, aside from my husband's, fell. They knew that once a gem gave up their physical form they were gone forever._

 _Pearl stared at me, tears streaming down her face. I reached out to comfort her but she back away from my touch. Her watery eyes landed on Greg, in an instant her sorrow and disbelief turned into pure rage. Pearl let out an ear splitting scream and ran right at Greg, with every intention of hurting him. I stepped in front of Greg to make sure that didn't happen. Garnet thankfully grabbed her and held her against her body, Pearl was still thrashing around like a mad man but at least she was unable to reach my husband. Amethyst stood close to Greg, watching the whole scene with wide eyes._

" _Do you have any idea what you've done?!" Pearl screamed._

" _What are you talking about?! What did I do?! She told you we're having a baby! What's so wrong about that?!" He yelled. Stepping in front of me, he put a protective hand over my stomach and glared at Pearl._

" _For that baby to live, Rose has to die!" Pearl wailed. Her words must have cut through Greg because his hand started to shake._

" _What is she talking about Rose?" He asked, looking up at me. Fear showing in his eyes._

" _Greg…what Pearl said is true." I whispered. Greg's hand fell from my stomach and his face lost all color. "For our baby to live I have to give up my life. I'm so sorry Greg. I wanted to you but I didn't want you to give up on your dream of having a family."_

" _But you are my family! You're my whole world! Damn it! How could you not tell me something like that?!" He yelled, tears were swimming his eyes. Before I could try to comfort him, he ran out of the temple._

" _Rose." Garnet finally spoke. "You should have told him."_

 _Looking over at her I saw that Pearl was now a crying heap on the floor. Amethyst was staring at Pearl with wide eyes. Garnet was the only one who was able to look at me and it made me feel so small and pathetic that I had to leave._

That's how I find myself now sitting on the beach, watching the sun do down and listening to the waves hitting the sand. Gently rubbing my stomach, I found myself smiling and humming softly.

"I don't care what anyone says. I will never give you up." I whispered. "And your daddy doesn't know it yet but his heart will heal and find love again. Everyone deserves a second chance at love."

Closing my eyes, I let my mind wonder when an idea hit me.

"Maybe I can help him. I just need a little bit of help from a lovers' stone." I thought out loud.

Summoning the bubbled Lovers' stone I saw that it was still the same from the last time I saw it about three hundred years ago. The stone was a clear diamond with one side of it completely smooth while the other was jagged. It looked like half of a broken heart.

Popping the bubble, I held the stone in my hand. According to the human legend, the lovers' stone was said to lead to someone's true love as long as one holding it had pure intentions. Which means that it will hopefully help me find Greg's second chance at love after I'm gone. Grasping it tightly in my hands, I closed my eyes and cleared my mind and soul.

"Please help me find her." I whispered. Nothing happened, not that I'm not surprised it was a long shot. I could not stop the disappointment I felt. Grasping it even tighter in my hands and once again asking for its help, I figured nothing would happen when suddenly a light enveloped me and I was being taken somewhere.

Upon opening my eyes I saw that I was hidden in a thicket of trees. Before I could register anything else I heard a girl laughing. Following the sound, I found myself looking out into someone's back yard, a young girl of about ten human years was playing on a tire swing.

She had beautiful long, brown hair down to her waist that came down in waves. Her bright blue eyes stood out because of her tan skin. This girl was going to a looker as she grew up. I also knew that she was going to be the one to fix Greg's heart ache in the future.

"Dawn!" An older man called from the back porch. It was clearly the girl's father, she looked just like him.

"Yes daddy! Coming!" Dawn called back. Her voice had a slight southern twang. Just looking at her I knew she had a good heart. There was no doubt about it, she was the one that was going to heal Greg, I just knew it. I watched as she and her father headed inside and as quickly as possible I put the stone in the tire swing and ran back. Not soon after Dawn came back out and headed straight to the swing.

"What's this?" She asked. I watched as she picked up the rock in her hand and looked around. Shrugged her shoulders, Dawn put the rock in her pocket and went back to playing. For a brief moment it glowed an orange color in her pocket and then faded out. Smiling, I bubbled myself and teleported back to the temple. No one was there this time around, which I was thankful for because I was not ready to face any of them yet.

For a few moments I just thought about my little family. Garnet, who is made up of nothing but the pure love of Ruby and Sapphire. Little Amethyst who wanted nothing more than to understand love in its entirety. Pearl, the most loyal friend I have ever had and my husband who has my heart in his hands. I smiled to myself while rubbing my stomach. I know that even after I'm gone that they will all love this baby and raise him right. And Greg will get to have a happy ending even if I'm not in it.

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 **Hello to everyone who took the time to read the first chapter to my new story. This story does focus around Greg and my own OC Dawn but there will be plenty of action and angst and so much other stuff! Hope to see you next chapter :)**


	2. Chapter 2 rewrite

POV: Dawn

I honestly think I have a good luck charm when it comes to love. Granted it wasn't my love life that was lucky but for anyone else it worked like a charm. Let me explain. I was younger when I found this weird stone, it looked like half of a broken heart, which is ironic considering it helped my "friends" find love. It started innocently enough, I found a girl I went to school with, Lizzie I think her name was, in the bathroom crying about this guy, granted we weren't friends by any means but I felt like I needed to do something to help her. Without thinking twice about it I took off my handmade necklace with the weird rock hooked on it and handed it to her feeding her crap about how it helped me find a guy or two. She looked like she didn't believe me but she put it on none the less and went off to find her guy.

Next thing I know I'm being hugged by Lizzie in the middle of the school hallway with her saying 'Thank you! Thank you!' over and over again. At first I was completely confused on why she would be thanking me when she took off my necklace off around her neck and handed it back to me. She said that I was right and that it was good luck but as it turned out the guy she was after completely turned the cold shoulder to her but her close guy friend started to comfort her and finally admitted his feelings for her, surprise, surprise. Actually it was a complete surprise because from then on girls from all over the school started asking if they could borrow my necklace, every time I said yes and every time there would be another girl thanking me.

I was happy that I was able to help the girls in my school but at the same time I didn't really believe the necklace had any lucky properties until one day I was talking to my dad about finding himself a girlfriend. For the longest time it was just me and my dad. Ever since my mom left us when I was thirteen it's been the two of us against the world, not giving a damn about what other people thought. I asked him to keep my necklace with him for an entire week and if nothing happened between him and a woman I would drop the subject. He agreed, neither one of us knowing that fate was set to meet the love of his life.

It was a normal day like any other, day three of him wearing my necklace and I was starting to doubt it when we saw a car with a popped tire on the side of the road and my dad being the kind of person he is stopped to see if he could help. That's when he met Ann, one of the nicest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

The instant I saw them together I knew that they were meant to be. After a year of dating, my dad finally popped the question and they were married not even a month later. It was a small wedding filled with only close family and friends. It was wonderful to see my dad smiling and laughing but I knew it was time for me to move out and start my own life. Besides that, I knew the happy couple probably wanted the house to themselves without anyone barging in on them at any random time. Plus, my orange tabby Tucker hated Ann for some odd reason and I didn't want to get rid of him so it just pushed me to find my own place.

Telling dad and Ann my plans, at first they argued against me saying I was more than welcome to with them, I explained that I didn't want to impose on them and that being twenty-four it was about time that I started heading out on my own. That and I was saving up my money from my full time job at my dad's tire business that I knew I had more than enough to keep myself afloat.

That's how I ended up pinning a large map of the United States to my wall and letting fate decide for me. Holding the dart in one hand and holding my necklace with the other I closed my eyes hoping for the best. The first time I threw it in Tucker's direction which I got a hiss for. The next few times the dart didn't even hit the map. Frustrated beyond belief I scrunched my eyes shut and threw the dart once more. It finally hit the map, directly on the small town of Beach City.

Looking up Beach City on line I saw that it was a small ocean side town. The job listing wasn't hard to find and thankfully I also found a job that didn't sound to bad. The mayor posted a position for a grounds keeper, reading the description I got the gist of it. Basically I would keep the beach, tourist traps and the pier clean of debris. I applied for it as soon as I saw it was up for grabs but that didn't mean I stopped looking at my other options. The next day I got a surprise call from the mayor of Beach City, Mayor Dewey. He called to inform me that I had the job if I wanted it, I accepted without a second thought. It was set that I would be starting work there in two weeks and that there was a small house I could rent out. Everything else would be finalized when I got there.

That's why my small pickup truck is filled to the brim with some of my things including my cat, who is meowing loudly from his cat carrier in the passenger seat. It's been a long right hour drive from my childhood house in Georgia to Beach City but I know it's going to be worth it. At least I hope.

"We're almost to our new home Tucker." I smile. He meows in return, replying to what I said. Moving to a new place is scary but I'm ready for a new start. None of it really seemed real until I passed the large sign saying 'Welcome to Beach City.'

"Well Tucker, it looks like we're not in Georgia anymore."

POV: Steven

"That's why I think Split Milk is the best Crying Breakfast friend." I tried to explain to my dad.

"Whatever you say buddy. Personally I don't really get that show, so I'll just take your word for it." He says tuning his guitar. Before I could continue our one-sided conversation my phone started to go off, Mayor Dewey's ringtone ringing out.

"Hi Mayor Dewey. What's up?" I answered cheerfully.

" _Hello young Universe. Nothing is up, I was just hoping that you would be able to help me with something today."_

"Sure. What is it?"

" _Someone new is moving into town and I was hoping that you would be able to show them around. Would you mind heading to my office now?"_

"Not at all. I'll see you in a bit. Bye!"

"What was that about kiddo?" Dad asked, still tuning his guitar.

"Someone knew it moving to town and Mayor Dewey asked if I could show them around! I can't believe someone new is moving here! This is so exciting!" I exclaimed, hoisting my cheeseburger backpack onto my shoulder.

"That is exciting. Have fun kiddo. If you need anything, you'll know where I'll be." Dad said, leaning back into his lawn chair.

"Thanks dad! See you later!"

"See ya kiddo!"

Running all the way to Town Hall, I was out of breath by the time I made it outside of Mayor Dewey's office. Resting for a second, I caught my breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Opening the door, I saw that his desk was covered with piles of papers, I could only see the top of his head. Mayor Dewey looked around the stacks of files, looking stressed but when he saw it was me, he sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness it's you Steven. At first I thought you were our newest resident and I don't have all the proper paper work for her to sign yet." He explained, looking stressed out again.

"Oh yeah! You mentioned that over the phone. Who's moving here anyways?"

"A Ms. Dawn Bird. She should be here any moment. I was so relieved when you said that you would be able to show her the town. I am usually the one to show newcomers around but as you can see I am up to my neck in paper work and won't have the time to."

"Say no more Mayor Dewey. I am more than happy to help you out." I smiled. A knock came from the door.

"Hello?"

"Yes. Come in!" Mayor Dewey called, putting his professional face on. I tried to copy him but I had a feeling I was failing. A tall, pretty girl walked in. Her long, curly looking hair was pulled back in a ponytail that reached the middle of her back. Her tan skin seemed to pop because of the green tank top and cut off shorts she was wearing. The girl wasn't skinny but she wasn't big either, she was curvy as I heard Lars say.

"Hello. Are you Mayor Dewey?" She asked with a small southern accent. For a few seconds Mayor Dewey didn't say anything. Looking up at him, I saw that he was blushing and had a nervous smile was on his face.

"Yes I am and you must be Ms. Bird." He said, his voice shaking a little bit. Putting his hand out to shake hers.

"Yes sir." She smiled, shaking his hand. "It's nice to finally put a face with the voice. And your town in quite a beauty, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Not at all. Thank you for the kind words." He added, finally acting like his normal self.

"And who might you just be?" Dawn smiled.

"Steven Universe at your service." I bowed. Taking her hand in mine, I kissed the back of it like I've read in a few books.

"Such a little gentleman. It's nice to meet you Mr. Steven Universe. I'm Dawn Bird." I could already tell I would like her.

"Mayor Dewey, you said you would have some papers for me to sign." Dawn stated, facing him.

"Yes. I do. Just one moment." He said, while looking through the stacks of papers on his desk. "You timed your arrival just right. Young Universe here, showed up right before you did. He's going to show you around. Normally I would but as you can see I am swamped."

"That's no problem Mayor. I'm sure Mr. Steven Universe here is a great tour guide." She winked at me.

"Here we go!" Mayor Dewey cheered, lifting a folder above his head. "Just sign these forms and you'll be all ready to go."

A few minutes later Dawn was finally done signing papers. Mayor Dewey handed over the keys to her new house, directions on how to get there and we were on our way. Dawn led the way to her vehicle, which was a rusty, red pickup truck filled with boxes, all tied down with rope in the back.

"You'll have to move Tucker but there should be plenty of room in the passenger seat." Dawn said, unlocking the doors.

"Who's Tucker?" I asked. When my eyes landed on the pet carrier in my seat. Lifting it, I looked inside and saw an orange, white cat inside.

"Why hello little guy." I smiled The cat's bright green eyes locked on mine and meowed.

"Glad to see you met. Steven, that pain in the butt is Tucker. Tucker, Steven." Dawn smirked. Getting into the truck, I placed the carrier on my lap.

"He's a good boy but I swear half the time he thinks he's a dog." She chuckled.

"Whys that?"

"Well for just a small example, he growls when he doesn't like someone and he loves to play fetch with his little mouse, cat nip toy."

"That's awesome! I've never heard of a cat like that."

"Yeah, he's one of a kind. So what do you say we check out my house and then you can show me around town tomorrow?" Dawn asked.

"Sure that sounds great."

"Great. Would you mind reading off the directions?"

"Oh sure!" Unfolding the instructions, I read them off while telling her which road she had to take. We only got lost once but a little back tracking and we were there. It was a two story brick house on the out skirts of town, only two other houses were on the road. Dawn drove up the small drive way and parked in front of the garage.

"My dad and I pass this house all the time when we take my friend, Connie, back home. Who knew that you would be moving into this place!"

"I can already tell I'm going to like this place."

I got out of the truck, holding Tucker's carrier to my chest. Dawn thanked me for carrying him and lead the way up the porch steps, to the front door.

"Ready to see the inside?" She grinned, while unlocking the front.

"Yes!" I shouted excitedly. Dawn laughed softly and pushed the door open, it echoed with a loud groan. The house had a layer of dust on the windows, walls and basically everything. It also smelled musty but if Dawn's smile was anything to go by she didn't seem to mind.

"A little dusty but nothing a good cleaning can't fix." Her voice echoed through the empty home.

"Should I let Tucker out?" I asked, looking up at her.

"Sure. Just make sure you stand clear when you open the door to his carrier because he will shoot out of there faster than a bat out of hell." She warned. Nodding, I sat down the carrier and reached for the lock on it.

"Okay Tucker. Here you go." I softly told him, trying not to spook him and just as Dawn said he was gone like an orange and white flash, running into another room somewhere in the house. And the paw prints he left just shown how much the house really did need a good cleaning.

"I guess I had better start cleaning before I move any of my things in." She sighed. "I hate cleaning!"

"I can help you." I offered.

"Oh no. Steven I would never ask that of you." She smiled shyly.

"Well that's great because I offered. I'm staying to help and the only way you'll get rid of me is if you throw me out!" I added dramatically. Dawn laughed and ruffled my hair.

"Okay! Okay! You're silly and thank you for staying. You know, you're a pretty cool guy Mr. Steven Universe."

"I know!"

"And so modest." Dawn smiled, shoving my shoulder playfully.

"We had better get started." She undid her pony tail and bunched her hair up into a bun. Following her back out to her truck, she started looking through her boxes until she came to one labeled 'Cleaning supplies'.

"YES! I knew it was here!" She cheered happily.

Picking it up, she took it back inside and put it on the floor. Opening it up she got out a few rags and handed one to me. We started in the living room and slowly made our way to the other rooms, all the while Dawn and I kept opening every window we came to, to try to get the 'moth ball', as Dawn put it, smell out of the house.

"So what made you move to Beach City?" I asked when we were working on one of the four rooms on the top floor.

"So forward. I like that." Dawn smirked. "Honestly I think I just needed a place where I knew no one and vice versa." She explained while opening the door to last room we had left to clean. Following in behind her, I was in awe of how cool the room was.

It had huge windows that looked out into the woods behind the house and the light streaming in from the soon to be setting sun made everything light up. Tucker was actually sleeping and sun bathing in the rays.

"Yup. I think Tucker found my room." Dawn laughed, looking at the room with wide eyes.

After cleaning for five straight hours were finally done, well at least with the dusting, but we had yet to bring in any of Dawn's things.

"Thank you so much for your help Steven." Dawn smiled and ruffled my hair. That seemed to be a habit of hers but I wasn't about to tell her to stop.

"Your welcome but I haven't helped you move anything in." I told her glumly, looking up at her through my hair.

"Don't worry about that Steven. You've been a big help; I can handle the rest." She smiled. "Now how about I give you a ride home?"

"If it's not too much trouble." I yawned. After locking up the house, we climbed into her truck. I gave her directions to dad's car wash and we were on our way.

"I can't tell you how much help you've been today. The moving van with the rest of my things should be here tomorrow and hopefully the movers will be as helpful as you are." She joked. I gave her a sleepy smile.

"Would you still like me to show you around town tomorrow?" I asked.

"Well you are my tour guide."

"Oh yeah, you are right." I beamed. "How about I show you around tomorrow morning?"

"That sounds like fun. Is this the car wash?" Dawn wondered, pulling up next to dad's work.

"Yep! Sure is. Thank you for the ride and I'll see you tomorrow morning!" I smiled and got out of her truck. Dawn waved goodbye and started the drive back to her new house.

"Hm. I really hope she doesn't get lost in the dark." I spoke out loud before making my way to my dad's van.

POV: Dawn

I parked my truck in the garage and was excited to find it was connected to the house. Grabbing my sleeping bag out of the back, I made my way inside and looked around the empty house. Making sure all the windows were closed and locked I headed up stairs to my self acclaimed bedroom, where I found Tucker still sleeping away where he was before.

Laying the sleeping bag in the middle of the floor I sat down and saw at some point I woke up his royal pain in the butt because he was glaring at me with sleepy eyes.

"About time you woke up." I smirked. He stretched, meowing pitifully and walked lazily over to me before crawling into my lap. Purring like an engine.

"It's a bit lonely isn't it? Don't worry Tucker we'll be fine. I'll call dad tomorrow night and let him know how we're doing. Hopefully everything will keep going up from here." I whispered softly, petting Tucker in between his ears. I laid down and before I fell asleep one thought was going through my mind.

' _I hope I was right about this place.'_

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 **Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this second chapter. We got to learn a little bit about Dawn. Tell me what you all think, all reviews are welcomed. And don't worry she'll meet Greg and the other characters in the upcoming chapters. Stay tuned for the next chapter! And thank you to everyone who took the time to favorite or leave a review it means a lot :)**


	3. Chapter 3 rewrite

POV: Dawn

I knew I was in a deep sleep because when I woke up it took me a second to remember where I was. That's when it hit me like a freight train, this is my bed room in my new house and I had moved to this town called Beach City.

"Hello? Dawn, are you up?" Steven called from outside. Wiping the drool from my chin, I gently pushed Tucker off my chest and stood up on unbalanced feet. Walking slowly and carefully down the stairs, unlocking and opened the front door, I came face to face with a large fluffy, pink lion.

"Good morning Dawn!"

"H-hi Steven. Um….is this thing safe to be around?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the huge beast that could bite my face off.

"Who? Lion? Yeah, he's as safe as a kitten. He's like my furry protector!" Steven proudly exclaimed. Lion pressed his forehead against mine and started to purr. I chuckled softly and patted his mane. To think I was afraid of this big softie just a few seconds ago.

"Aww! I think he likes you!" Steven gushed. Lion leaned back and I could have sworn that he was smiling at me.

"I think I like this big guy too." I smirked. "So are you ready to show me around town, Mr. Tour guide?"

"Sure am! And we get to ride in style! That's why I brought Lion." Steven explained.

"He will actually let us ride him?"

"Yeah! And it's really cool!"

"That's awesome! Just let me get Tucker." Running back upstairs, I saw that he was still asleep on my sleeping bag. Scooping him up in my arms, grabbing my keys and locking the front door, I was ready to go. Steven and Lion were waiting out in the yard.

"Ready when you are!" I called out. Tucker tensed up when he saw Lion and jumped out of my arms, running into the forest.

"Oh no! Will he be okay? He looked a little freaked out."

"He'll be fine. He knows where the house is and I kept a window upstairs open if he wants back in." I explained.

"Okay. If you're sure."

"Yep. So how do I get on his back?" I asked.

"Like this." Steven then began to climb up Lion's back and I followed suit.

"Lion, to the Crystal Temple, if you please." Lion was up and running, before Steven could even finish his sentence. Reaching out, I took hold of Lion's mane tightly, my arms were on both sides of Steven holding him in place. At some point my hair tie came out because my hair was whipping in my face. I heard Lion roar and looking up I saw a portal thing come flying out of his mouth.

"Steven what is that?!" I shouted, so I could be heard.

"Don't worry! It's just a portal!"

As we were about to go through the portal, I closed my eyes, bracing myself for whatever was waiting for us on the other side.

POV: Greg

Driving my van on the beach, I was hoping to get inspiration for a song I was writing. I had just found a nice shady spot when I saw a portal open over the ocean. Parking my van, I got out and cautiously made my way to the water's edge. A thought of calling the gems to help came to mind but it was squashed the moment I saw Lion with Steven on his back. A sigh of relief escaped from my lips.

"Hey Dad!" Steven waved.

"Hi kiddo!" I yelled back.

Lion was making a bee line straight for me but instead of slowing down he was picking up speed with every step. I was about to hit the deck when Lion pivoted to a stop, sliding sideways in the sand. A girl behind Steven, which I didn't know was there, went flying off Lion's back. Her terrified scream, kicking my reflexes into gear because I braced myself with my arms out to catch her. Her body hit mine square in the chest and it sent us falling to the ground.

"Ouch…" I heard her groan. Her weight on my body shifted and she gasped. "Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" She put her hands on my shoulders and pushed herself up and off my chest.

"Yeah. I'm fine." I mumbled. Opening my eyes, I winced at the bright light and closed them tighter. Rubbing my forehead, I pushed myself up slowly until I was sitting up and tried to open my eyes again. At first everything was blurry but when it cleared I saw a young woman looking at me, concern shining in her eyes.

"Dad! Dawn! Are you okay?" Steven asked frantically, as he ran over to us.

"We're fine Steven. Just a little shaken up." I explained. "What I want to know is why Lion pulled that stunt in the first place."

Looking over at the beast in question, I saw he was now lying on the sand, sunbathing, without a care in the world.

"I don't know. That was pretty weird even for him. Steven added, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. The young woman stood up and offered me a hand up.

"Thanks." I told her, as she pulled me up.

"No problem. It's not every day you get a woman thrown at you, off of a lion's back no less." She smirked.

"Well at least Lion did bring us to the temple. I'll go see if the gems are home!" My son yelled, as he ran to the house.

"So you're Steven's dad?" The young woman asked.

"Sure am. Greg Universe." I smiled, reaching out my hand. "And you are?"

"Dawn Bird. The town's new keeper. Which means I clean up the messes around the city. Nice to meet you Mr. Universe." She smiled and shook my hand.

"Please call me Greg. Mr. Universe makes me feel old." I chuckled.

"Okay, Greg. Is that your van?" She asked, gesturing over to my vehicle.

"Yeah. That's my baby. Want to see the inside of it?" It wasn't until the words left my mouth that I realized how creepy it sounded.

"Sure. It's not like you offered me candy beforehand." She laughed. As we walked over Dawn braided her hair into a single braid and threw it behind her back.

"You know that probably won't stay, you didn't put a hair tie at the bottom." I pointed out.

"Yeah, I know but I lost mine when Lion went all crazy on us."

"I think I might have an extra one in my console."

"Really? It would be amazing if you did." I chuckled and opened up the back doors before I headed around front to hopefully find a hair tie.

"Wow. You've got great taste in music." She called up to me. Looking up from the messy console I saw she was sitting in the back, cross legged, looking through a crate of my favorite records.

"I didn't think kids your age ever heard of records, let alone know what they are." I called. About to give up on my search I saw at the very bottom a green hair tie. "Yes! Found one!"

"Great!" I shouted. Walking back to her I saw she was looking at my only record of _Simon and Garfunkel,_ looking like she found a lost treasure.

"Here you go." Handing over the tie.

"Thank you." She beamed, looking up from the record in her lap. Redoing her braid, she tied it at the bottom and went back to looking through my record collection.

"Oh and I didn't know a twenty-four-year-old was still considered a kid." She smirked.

"TO be fair, I consider anyone younger than thirty, a kid." I said, putting my hands up in mock surrender. Looking through some records she pulled out one with a confused look on her face.

"I've never heard of this band. Are they any good?" Dawn asked, handing over my _Philosophy Majors_ record.

"Yeah. This band is amazing. I can't believe you're a fan of _Simon and Garfunkel_ but have never heard of these guys! I can't let this continue! I insist you borrow this! And hear their awesome magic!" I told her dramatically, while handing the record back over to her.

"Really! That is so cool of you! Thank you so much!" She beamed.

"I'm back!" I heard Steven yell. He rounded the back of the van but I didn't see any crystal gems in tow.

"Hey. Were the gems not home?" I asked.

"Well they were but they had an important mission to go on but I told them about you Dawn and they can't wait to meet you." Steven exclaimed excitedly. He sat down between us and looked at the records we had at. "Well I can see what you two were up to."

"And what do you think that was?" Dawn asked, leaning back on her elbows, looking completely at ease.

"Bonding over music of course!" Steven grinned. Dawn chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"Lucky guess."

Dawn's phone started to go off, blasting out the old school theme song of the _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ cartoon. Sitting back up, she fished it out her pockets, a light blush covering her cheeks.

"Hello? Yes…Okay. I'll be there. Thank you." She hung up the phone with a sigh. "That was the movers and they said they'll be at my place in about fifteen minutes. Do you think Lion could give me a ride home?"

"I would say yes but I don't think Lion is going to wake up anytime soon." Steven said. Looking over I saw that Steven was right, the pink thing was dead asleep.

"I can give you a ride home." I spoke up.

"Really? You don't mind?" Dawn asked, looking hopeful.

"Sure, it's no problem. You coming to kiddo?"

"Yes please!"

We all piled into the van and drove out to Dawn's place, the moving van had already beat us there. Dawn was the first one out of the van, going to talk to the movers. Steven and I followed suit. After unlocking the door for the movers, she told us we didn't have to stay and help.

"Don't be silly, we don't mind. Just let us help." I said, giving her a playfully stern look.

"I can see where Steven gets his charm from." She smirked. "But okay. If you guys insist."

With the three movers and the three of us, it was a pretty easy job. The only thing I wasn't liking was the looks the head mover was giving Dawn whenever she wasn't looking. He was hot for her and he wasn't hiding that fact which just meant he was the kind of guy I could not stand.

"Okay, that's the last of it." The head mover said, bringing in the last two boxes. He looked around the room clearly looking for Dawn but thankfully she was upstairs at the moment.

"Hey. Old man, can you tell me where that tall drink of water went off too?" He asked with a creepy smile across his face. I tried to not look at him in disgust but he was making it difficult.

"I think she's somewhere upstairs."

"Okay thanks gramps." He said before bounding up the stairs far to eagerly. Steven looked as worried as I felt.

"I had better go make sure that guy keeps his hands to himself." I explained while nonchalantly getting up and heading for the steps. Reaching the top of stairs, I heard two voices at the end of the hall.

"…It's just one drink, what's the worst that can possibly happen?" The guy asked. This guy was young, maybe a few years older than Dawn. With his dirty blonde hair and handsome face, he was probably use to getting any woman he wanted.

"Oh, that you turn into a goon that I already suspect you are, considering I've said no the first two times you've asked me."

"Oh come on baby. I'm not that bad." Stepping silently closer to the ajar door, I peeked inside to see he was trying to put his arms around her waist. And Dawn looked like she was about to kill him.

"Hey man. She made it clear, she's not interested." I glared, throwing the door open. Thankfully he stepped away from Dawn, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"It's okay Mr. Universe. Mr. Lance ere was just about to show himself out." She explained, while making her way closer to me. This Lance character glared daggers into me before stomping his way down stairs and slamming the door on his way out.

"Are you okay?" I asked when I finally found my voice again.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just glad you showed up when you did. That creep was not taking now for an answer."

"It's no problem. I'm just glad he didn't try anything else."

"Thanks." She smiled. We both made our way back to the living room to find Steven playing with an orange and white tabby.

"Well I can see Tucker found his way home." Dawn spoke. At hearing her voice, the tabby came running and jumped up into her arms.

"I take it he's yours?" I chuckled while petting the little guy on the head.

"Yep, he's my baby boy." She joked.

"Hey dad. I'm hungry." Steven spoke up.

"I guess that's our cue to leave. I hope we were able to help." I said.

"Of course you did. Thanks again, you know you didn't have to stay and help."

"We wanted to." Steven grinned. Dawn walked us out to the van, where I gave her the record I wanted her to borrow.

"Thanks again for what you did earlier Greg. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there." She gave me a hug and then stepped away quickly. "Sorry I'm not good at this kind of stuff."

"Hey. No big deal." I told her.

"Hopefully I'll see you and Steven around."

"I think you will. But I will definitely have to see you again to get my record back."

"Oh yeah. Obviously." Dawn laughed. "See ya around."

She headed back inside her house and I got into my van. I wasn't sure what it was but something felt strange when she hugged me. Shaking my head, I let go of the thought and headed to Frybo's to get some food with my son.

POV: Dawn

My body still felt dirty from where that creep had his hands on me but when I hugged Greg it was like some of it was washed away. Probably because he was the one to save me form a situation that could have been really bad. Reaching up I took hold of the stone on my necklace and took a few calming breathes, for some reason I could have sworn it felt warm but I chalked it up to mind being overly stressed. After all I had a stressful day.

* * *

 **Thank you to every single person that has read, reviewed, favorited or following this story, it means a lot. I hope that you all enjoyed this newest chapter and if you have any ideas that want to see in upcoming chapters just leave a review or shoot me a PM and I will try to fit in somewhere. Thanks again! And I hope to have the next chapter up in at least week. And by the way reviews are welcomed :)**


	4. Chapter 4 rewrite

POV: Dawn

"Yes! Here is it!" I cried out in triumph. Pulling my dad's old hand-me-down record player from one of the many boxes in my living room. Grinning from ear to ear, I sat it down beside Tucker, who was acting like he was sleep but I knew he was waiting for the moment the box I was currently unpacking to be emptied so he could claim it as his own. As soon as I got the rest of the wires out it, he "woke up" and bounded into it.

Heading into the kitchen for another cup of morning coffee, I stopped at the living room to open the windows to let in some fresh morning air and the sound of the birds chirping flowed in. It was so soothing, it almost felt like I was back in Georgia.

Spending most of last night getting my speakers hooked in the living room, all I had left to do was bring down the record player and I would be ready to listen to Greg's record in style.

' _I wonder if he has a killer system too.'_ I thought.

I was just about to finish up plugging in the last of the wires when my phone started to go off. Looking at the I.D. I saw it was Mayor Dewey, a.k.a. my new boss.

"Good mornin' Mayor Dewey. What can I do for you?" I chimed brightly.

"Good morning to you too Ms. Bird. I was just calling to see if you would be able to start work today. I will be more than happy to show you where all your equipment is and of course brief you on your work today."

"I can start today. Thank you sir."

"Great! Come on down to my office when you are ready. See you in a bit Ms. Bird."

Walking back to my room with my second cup of coffee, I saw that Tucker was still having a blast with his box. Making a beeline for the boxes labeled 'clothes' I opened them and grabbed the first things I touched which consisted of a plain red tank up and black gym shorts. Thankfully I had enough sense last night to dig out my work shoes from this mess. Heading to the bathroom, I ran a brush through my knot infested hair and threw it up in a messy bun. Tucker jumped up into the sink, meowing at me, basically saying he was hungry.

"Don't worry big guy, I'll feed you before I leave." I scooped him up in my arms and headed back down stairs. I had set his food and water dishes in the kitchen and saw that he had indeed ate all of his food. Putting him down, I filled his dishes and headed out.

"I'll be back Tucker! Behave!" I yelled. He was too busy eating to even acknowledge I was leaving. Opening the garage door, I got into my truck and was on my way. The first day at my new job, I was excited and nervous. Steven had yet to show me around town so I was hoping that I wouldn't get completely lost.

Looking around the town on my way in I saw that it was a little bigger than what I originally thought but it still had a small town charm to it. After parking my truck, I made my way inside but before I could even get close enough to Mayor's office door to knock I heard a shouting match coming from the other side.

"You don't get to decide that!" A young man with glasses yelled as he threw open the door. He ran right past me, like I wasn't even there. Looking into the office, I saw that the mayor holding his head in his hands, looking quite tired.

"…Hello?" I called out in barely a whisper. Mayor Dewey looked up and almost instantly went from looking tired and worried to the confident man whom I had come to know.

"Come in, come in Ms. Bird." He smiled, gesturing my inside.

"Are you sure? Because I can come back if you need a moment." I took a step back just in case he would say yes.

"Don't be silly. Time is money. Let me get you the keys to the garage your equipment is stored in and we'll be on our way." He turned to a filing cabinet in the corner.

"Found them!" He cheered. "Just follow my Mayor Dewey van and we'll get you set up."

I nodded and smiled, trying to act as normal as possible but I could not help but worry about him. After how tired he looked after that kid left in a huff I had a sneaking suspension that that kid was his son but I kept my thoughts to myself.

Following him outside, I was wondering which van he was talking about until I saw one with a huge head of the man in question right on top of it. I did as he asked and followed him to a smaller part of town to a worn down looking, one story garage. I couldn't help but hope that the tools inside were in better shape than the outside. The mayor unlocked the door, flipped o the light and I was excited to see the tools were in great shape.

"Wow! You have a lot of great tools!" I exclaimed.

"I'm happy you approve because will all that goes on around this town you're going to need all of these tools at some point. So now that you know where you're work base is let me show you where you're first job is."

"Yes sir." I wanted to ask what he meant with his earlier comment of 'all that goes on around this town' but I thought it wise not to tick my boss off the first day. The place he showed me was a rustic looking theater that I could not help but fall in love with. It looked so grand with ivy inching its way up the sides and old ticket booth almost looked brand new.

"This is beautiful." I whispered, awe struck by the building's beauty.

"Why thank you. It took a great deal of man hours to build. My father, the mayor before me, had this place built to attract people to our humble little town but as you can probably guess it takes a lot of up keep to keep this place looking nice."

"I bet it does." I mumbled, not taking my eyes off the old fashioned theater sign.

"This is where you come in. You will be in charge of making sure that this place keeps looking just as good as it did the day it was built. If I were you I would make this place a weekly spot to check." He explained.

"What will my main job be exactly?" I asked, looking at him finally.

"I have already hired a cleaning service to redo the décor on the inside. What you will be doing is making sure the paint job on the building stays nice and clean. Also fixing any lose floor boards or anything of that nature. Understand?"

"Yes sir. I believe I do."

"Good, good. Well I leave you to your job. If you have any questions just call me office." He said while handing over the theater keys.

"Will do. Thank you sir."

Looking down at the keys I saw that thankfully each key had the door it opened etched at the bottom of each one. Walking to the set of double doors closest to me, pulling on the knob I found that it was already unlocked.

' _The cleaners must have forgotten to lock up.'_

Stepping in, I was once again in awe at how beautiful the lobby looked. It was almost like you stepped through a time machine and was back in the 1960's. The deep red maroon carpet that covered the floor, to the beautiful crystal chandeliers that hung in the high ceilings, everything looked flawless. The snack bar even had an old timey popcorn machine. My footsteps made a dull echo through the empty room as I made my way to the main theater. This time my breath caught in my throat.

The seats, that matched the carpet, were in perfect order but what got me was how wonderfully huge the stage was. In high school I was in the drama club so I could not help but admire it. Walking down the aisle of seats on both sides of my person, I looked up and saw the balcony seating and saw they were just as grand as the lower seats.

I felt my jaw drop when I saw that right above me hung another beautiful crystal chandelier except it was twice as big as the ones in the lobby. And above that was a stunning painting of clouds and blue sky. It was painted so flawlessly I could have sworn it was a sky light at first.

"A beautiful woman in awe of something like a painting is beauty within itself."

I jumped at the voice and saw a guy about my age standing in the center of the stage. His eyes were closed and he had a charming smile on his face. I didn't know what to say or what to think so I stayed quiet, waiting to see what he would do or say next. He opened his eyes and his smile turned into a look of worry.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you. I guess I got caught up in the drama zone there for a second." He explained with a nervous laugh. He was making his way down the side stairs on the stage and making his way towards the aisle I was in.

"You're okay. You just surprised me. What is a drama zone anyways?" I asked.

"Oh it's just something I picked up when I went off to Kansas." He chuckled. "I'm Jamie by the way." He said, sticking his hand out for me to shake. I took it and gave him a smile.

"I'm Dawn, the new girl in town. Nice to meet you."

"Oh yeah! I heard someone new was moving to Beach City. But that does not explain why you are here."

"You're looking at Beach City's new keeper. Mayor Dewey hired me to keep this town looking good. And my first job is getting this place looking great."

"Thank God! I am so happy to hear that. I will be putting on plays here soon and you know what they say, the play is only as good as the stage that it's performed on."

"Good point. But from where I stand it looks like your dressed to deliver mail not direct plays." I smirked. He was wearing what looked like a safari hat, shorts and mail bag was slung across his shoulder.

"Hey! If need be I could totally direct in this!" He said, faking a pout.

"Uh huh. Sure." I said, trying my best not to laugh. "Well listen mister director of the century, I have to scope out the rest of the building. If you want to, you are more than welcome to join me."

"I can't be director of the century without helping restore the place where my plays will be held." He told me dramatically, clenching his fist and closing eyes.

"Okay. Enough with the drama zone." I laughed while pushing his shoulder playfully. He acted like I broke his shoulder and I rolled my eyes.

We made our way outside and walked around the building. Weeds were everywhere, peeking through the concrete and around the ticket booth which meant I would have to spray them as soon as possible. There was also that icy on the sides of the building, I would have to cut it back but that was the main issues on the outside.

Driving back to the garage I grabbed the spray for the weeds, a ladder and clippers for the ivy. Jamie was waiting outside the theater waiting for me, asking if he could do anything to help. I explained to him how the sprayer worked, he strapped it to his back and he looked like a ghostbuster which I told him and he started acting like Billy Murray.

Leaning the ladder against the wall with the most ivy, I securely put the clippers in my back pocket and climbed up. Starting with the tallest ivy I started cutting and had to get on my tip toes for a small bit I could not reach. I was about to get the last of it when my foot slipped from under me and I started falling. I didn't even have time to scream because I landed in someone's arms. Peeling my eyes open, half expecting Jamie but I looked up and saw a woman with glasses and an afro.

POV: Garnet

"Watch your step." I said to the pale faced woman in my arms. Placing her gently on the ground I watched as the color slowly started returning to her face. For some reason, since the day before I kept having a vision of this young woman falling of a ladder and I was the one who always caught her. I don't know why she looked familiar to me but something told me it had something to do with Rose.

"Thank you so much! I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." She said, her voice still shaking.

"It's no problem." After a few more deep breaths she looked half way back to normal, color wise anyways.

"My name is Dawn Bird by the way."

That's when it hit me. The name, her face, this was the girl that Rose told me about. She was going to help heal Greg's heart. At the time Rose had even asked me to use my future vision to make sure the lovers' stone was right. And almost like always my future vision was right, I just didn't expect things to happen this soon.

' _Are you sure this is the right girl?' Ruby questioned._

' _Of course. Can't you see the lovers' stone around her neck Ruby? This is her.'_

The stone was indeed around her neck, looking at Dawn's face I saw she was waiting for me to introduce myself.

"Garnet."

"It's nice to meet you Garnet. You're a true life saver." She laughed.

"Hey Dawn. I thought I heard something. Are you okay?" Turning around I saw Jamie walking our way.

' _Oh great! What's that bozo want?' Ruby asked angrily._

" _Don't be rude. Didn't you hear, he's here to help Dawn.'_

"Oh hey Garnet. What are you doing here?" Jamie asked.

"She's just busy saving my ass. I fell off the ladder and if Garnet wasn't here when she was it would have gotten ugly." Dawn explained.

"Oh my gosh!" Jamie exclaimed, worry written all over his face. I wasn't sure if he liked her more than a friend but there was clearly something there but I kept it to myself. With both of them distracted I made my clean get away. Taking my time getting back to the temple I let myself wonder back to the promise I made Rose fourteen years ago.

 _14 years ago-_

" _I used the lovers' stone to find Greg's second chance. Please try to understand Garnet." Rose pleaded._

" _I understand why you did. You truly love him but you know that even with that stone there is a chance they won't fall in love."_

" _That's why I'm asking you to use your future vision and tell me if she and Greg is even possible."_

 _Giving her a single nod of my head, I glanced into the future. A young woman with long curly looking hair was standing on the beach, leaning against an older version of Greg. They both looked happy and filled to the brim with love that I could feel tears come to my eyes. Coming back I saw Rose was waiting patiently for my verdict._

" _That's why I came to you. Use your future vision and tell me if she and Greg are remotely possible." Nodding in agreement I glanced into the future._

" _There is a chance." I stated._

" _Oh thank you Garnet." She gushed, hugging me tightly. "Can I ask one more favor of you?"_

" _Anything Rose."_

" _Please, please make sure that no matter what Greg is happy. And if this Dawn girl and him fall in love make sure nothing ruins their happiness. Promise me that."_

" _I promise."_

I never knew promising Rose something like that would be difficult but looking at the way Jamie was looking at Dawn, it was possibly going to get very difficult indeed.

* * *

 **I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. And thanks again to everyone that took the time to read, leave a review, favorite or follow it means a lot. In the next chapter we are going to see a little bit more of Greg and Dawn, with Steven on the side lol Well until the next chapter, all reviews are welcomed :)**


	5. Chapter 5 rewrite

POV: Dawn

I survived my first week of Beach City. Surprise. Surprise. I have never worked so hard in my life. Who would have thought that a small community with so few people would have so many things in need of fixing? First it was the theater which after my near death experience on the ladder, Jamie, bless his heart insisted on getting the rest of the ivy of the wall. He was also the one who clued me in that Garnet, besides being my personal ass saver was also a crystal gem.

After the theater I got a call from Mr. Kofi Pizza. The mayor was kind enough to give me a phone with all the residents numbers already programmed into it. Mr. Kofi needed help putting his sign back on his restaurant. With a little elbow grease, I got it up and looking great in under an hour and a half.

By the next morning I had voice mails on my phone from four different people asking when I could patch up or fix something.

Mr. Fryman needed help putting in a window pane, which as it turned out was a big pain in the ass not that I voiced my opinion but Mr. Fryman with all his colorful language said it all. His youngest son Peedee was a sweetheart, asking if I needed a drink or if I was hungry which I politely declined. His brother on the other hand, Ronaldo, kept asking me odd, random questions that I tried to answer but some left me speechless.

A Mr. Lars and Ms. Said asked if I could help put new flooring in at the Big Donut, apparently the owner came into some monet and wanted the place to look a little nicer. Since that was my first time actually putting floor tile in, there was a lot of trial and error but I got the hang of it. While I was working I saw a little bit of Lars and Sadie's relationship and found it adorable but complicated. After three straight days of tilting I was finally done. Which meant I could move on to my next job which the Mayor himself called in.

Mayor Dewey called to ask if I had cleaned the pier yet. With all my other jobs it was the last thing on mind but I spent two days making sure the pier was orderly and clean. That was an easy job compared to my last call of the week. Also marking my first full week in my new home and job.

Mr. Smiley, who runs the Beach City Funland, wanted all of the gaming systems moved so that the carpet could be steamed. Using a dolly, I moved all of the heavy and extremely awesome arcade games out and proceeded to steam and vacuum. It looked way better after everything was done. Being an active gamer myself I could not blame Mr. Smiley for wanting his place to be in tip top shape.

It was around nine at night when I got done at Mr. Smiley's so I headed straight home with all the tools I had used in the back of my truck. Parking in my garage and heading inside Trucker greeted me at the door.

"Hey buddy. Have a good day?" I smiled. He meowed and stared up at me. Which only meant one thing, his food dish was empty. Checking out his dishes and found they were both bare. After getting food and water for him, I headed upstairs, yearning for my bed and comfy pjs. With my oversized green t-shirt and comfy _Harry Potter_ sweat pants, I was out like a light before my head even hit my pillow.

Waking up to the sound of my alarm going off I once again had drool on my chin, wiping it off and sitting up, I found Tucker laying at the foot of my bed, still fast asleep. Reaching for the night stand, I punched my alarm clock off and grabbed my phone. No one had called yet but that didn't really mean anything considering it was only eight in the morning.

Heading down stairs with Tucker lazily following behind me, I started the coffee maker and put some bread in the toaster. Tucker pawed at my leg, letting me know that he still needed his food. Chuckling softly, I got him a scoop full of food and got myself a large cup of coffee. The toast in the toaster had just popped up when my phone started ringing. It was Mr. Greg Universe.

"Good morning Mr. Universe. How are you on this fine day?" I asked cheerfully.

"I'm doing well. Thanks for asking. I didn't want to bother you this early in the morning but Mayor Dewey said to call you if I had anything I needed fixing."

"He told you right. What do you need fixing?"

"It's not anything that needs fixing. You see my friend Garnet brought it to my attention yesterday that the car wash windows are filthy and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping this old man out." He chuckled.

"You're not old and I would be happy to help. What time would you like to start?"

"Does noon sound okay?" He asked.

"Noon, sounds great. See then Mr. Universe."

"See ya Dawn."

Considering I had a few hours to burn before I had to head over to the car wash, I took the time to make sure my stereo system was hooked up properly and put on my borrowed record. The _Philosophy Majors_ had a different kind of feel to them but that's the kind of music I like. Not that pop crap that everyone one else my age liked. The music that had a story behind it and soul to it, now that's my kind of music.

I left my place a little before eleven so I wouldn't have to rush to get the tools I needed from the garage. Tucker tagged along for the ride. He curled up in the passenger seat, lazily looking out the window. After grabbing the tools from the work base I was on my way to the car wash.

Pulling into the small drive I saw Mr. Universe getting a ladder out of the back of the main building. I found it sweet that he would go to that trouble. He looked up and when he saw it was me, he waved. I returned the gesture. Getting out of my truck, Tucker jumped out the passenger window and we headed over to Mr. Universe who was busy with his ladder.

"You know I have a ladder. You didn't have to trouble yourself with this." I told him, gesturing to the ladder.

"It's no trouble. I know this ladder is safe and I don't want any accidents." He explained while adjusting the ladder in question. I felt a little shocked at his choice of words but I kept my cool.

"What? Do I look clumsy?" I joked.

"Not at all. Garnet told me about your little spill and that it could have been a lot worse if she hadn't caught you. So I want to make sure that doesn't happen on my watch." I felt my face heat up from embarrassment. Mr. Universe looked at me, his eyes softened and he put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't feel bad. Even the best of us can screw up sometimes."

"Thanks." I smiled. His words did make me feel better but I still felt the heat in my cheeks.

"Hey dad!" Steven yelled, running towards us. "And Dawn's here too! What are you doing here?"

"I asked her to clean the car wash windows." Mr. Universe explained.

"Oh that's cool, it really needed it too. No offense dad."

"No offense taken kiddo."

"Anyways the gems are going on another mission to hopefully find Lapis so I was wondering if I could borrow your life jackets, if that's okay."

"Of course you can. Just give me a second to find them."

"Sorry for being nosy but who is this Lapis person?" I asked, not able to help myself.

"She's another gem that gave up her own freedom to drag Jasper, who is a different gem, to the bottom of the ocean and if we don't find her soon she'll completely lose herself." He explained, like his weird tale was an everyday thing. I was at a lost.

"Well, I hope you find her soon."

"Thanks! Me too."

"Here they are kiddo. Good luck on finding Lapis." Mr. Universe said while handing Steven four life jackets.

"Thanks dad! I'll be back!" Steven called as he sprinted away. I was still trying to wrap my head around Steven's story and how unbelievable it sounded.

"I hope he stays safe." Mr. Universe mumbled softly. I glanced up at him and saw he had a worried look on his face. "I wish I could do more to help him but it seems like every time I try; I screw things up."

POV: Greg

"At least you tried." Dawn spoke. Looking down at her I saw she was looking right back at me. "I mean even if you have screwed up, at least you can say you tried and that's more than a lot of people can say."

"I never thought of it that way. Thanks Dawn." I smiled.

"Hey no problem. Didn't you know? I'm a shrink in my down time." She joked. I couldn't help my chuckle. "Well I had better get to work."

She went to her truck and got all the tools that she needed. Using the garden hose from the side of the building she wetted down all the windows and filled up her soap buckets. When she tried to climb the ladder with the heavy bucket in hand, I gently took it from her.

"You know Mr. Universe I can handle a little bucket with water."

"I know. Just indulge an old man." I smirked. She smirked and rolled her eyes but she didn't press the bucket issue.

"I've told you once and I will tell you again. You are not old." She told me when I handed up the bucket up to her. I heard a soft meowing at my feet and I saw her tabby was looking up at me.

"Well hello there, little guy." I smiled, bending down to pick him up.

"Tucker agrees with me. He says you're not old too."

"What? So now, besides being a shrink in your spare time you're also a cat whisper?" I asked in a joking manner. She smirked down at me with a raised eye brow.

"You said it, I didn't."

While she was cleaning the windows we talked about anything and everything. Our conversation was easy and laid back and if I was going to be honest with myself I hadn't had a smooth conversation like that since Rose. Shaking my head at the thought I put it out of my mind.

Having closed down the car wash for the day because of the windows getting cleaned I helped Dawn with whatever she would let me help with. Which basically meant I was the old guy lifting up the bucket for her so she wouldn't have to mess with it. At one point though I had accidently spilled water on her black tank top and red cut off shorts.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Dawn!"

"Hey. It's cool. It's just water. But if I were you I would apologize to Tucker. It's seems the water hit him too." Looking down, I saw a very angry, wet cat glaring up at me.

"Sorry little guy. I'll go grab a towel." Running inside the office I came back to find Dawn was just getting off the ladder.

"Looks like I'm finally done." She smiled, with pride shining in her eyes. Leaning down up the tabby I softly patted him dry and was pleasantly surprised when he started purring.

"He likes you." She smiled, kneeling down beside me. Opening her arms, the cat ran straight to her.

"Random question but have you ever watched the sun set over the ocean?" I asked. She looked up from the tabby, giving me a questioning look.

"I don't think I have, no."

"Would you like to? We can meet up later and I'll have Steven, we can make a small party out of it." I smiled.

"Sounds fun. I will take you up on your offer Mr. Universe."

"Didn't I tell you not to call me Mr. Universe?" I asked, folding my arms, trying to look stern.

"That you did. My apologizes Mr. Universe. As you can see my dad raised me to well."

"Tell you what. I won't refer to myself as old man as long as you don't call me Mr. Universe. Deal?" I asked, putting my hand out.

"Deal." She said, shaking my hand.

"Good. So I'll see you later tonight?"

"You sure will Mr. Un- I mean Greg." She smirked. Dawn left soon after that. And that left me with nothing to do. So I got set on getting my best records ready for later. Steven showed back up the car wash an hour before the sun was to set and I told him of the plan.

"That's awesome! I can't wait!" He cheered.

Soon enough we were on our way to the beach and I saw Dawn's truck was already there. She was sitting on the dropped down tail gate with a wind breaker on. Her cat was sleeping on her lap. You would think she was asleep also with her eyes closed and looking so peaceful. Pulling up next to her truck, I shut the van off and Steven was out like a shot.

"Hey Dawn!" I heard him say.

"Hey there Steven. Ready for an awesome party!" She cheered.

"I think we all are." I spoke up as I made my way around to open up the back of the van.

"Do you think we could have a bonfire?" Steven asked.

"Yeah that sounds like fun." Dawn added, swinging her legs back and forth.

"Sure. Just let me get everything set up first." I told them.

Dawn proved once again that she was more than helpful. While I was getting the tuneage ready she got a small fire going. Sitting down in the sand we all listened to the wood crackling and the music in the background blend together.

"This is pretty awesome." Dawn finally spoke up.

"Yes it is but it's about to get better." I told her. Before she could ask what I meant I gestured out to the ocean and watched as her face turned into an expression of awe. The sun was setting and it looked like was melting away into the water. We all watched in silence until it sunk down completely.

"Wow." Dawn whispered. Steven and I both looked at her, waiting for her next words. "I can see why people like beaches now."

"Yeah! But you should look up now." Steven smiled. Dawn and I both looked up and I found the night sky filled with stars.

"Look at that! It's the big dipper!" Dawn pointed to a cluster of stars. "And that's the little dipper."

"Wow! Where are they?" Steven asked. Dawn scooted closer to him and started pointing out the different constellations. She even started telling the stories behind certain ones and Steven was hanging on her every word. It was nice to see my son having sun without the wright of the world on his shoulders.

"Well I had better be getting home." Dawn said a little while later. Picking up her sleeping cat from her lap, she stood and yawned. "Thank you gentlemen for an enjoyable evening and I will you two later." She smiled.

"Bye Dawn!" Steven called and waved as she drove away. "I really like her, she's nice."

"Yes she is. I think she will fit right into Beach City. Hey kiddo. I think it's about time you head to bed." I told him, ruffling his hair. He yawned and nodded in agreement.

"I think you right dad. I'm heading home. See you tomorrow." He said and gave me a hug.

"Goodnight Steven. Love you."

"Love you too dad. Goodnight."

I watched as he slowly made his way home. I was tired myself but I wasn't in the mood to pack up yet. Looking up the stars I tried to recall some of the stories Dawn was telling and I found myself zoning out.

Dawn was a strange person but a good kind of strange. She was always joking and she was easy to talk to and Steven liked her too but for some reason I could not shake the feeling that something was pulling me to her. Not wanting to dwell on that feeling I put the fire out and started to pack up, calling it a night.

* * *

 **Oh my. What is Greg feeling I wonder lol I hope that this chapter wasn't to fast paced, that's why it took me so long to update because this chapter kept giving me trouble. Please let me know what you guys think. Thank you to every single person who has taken the time to read, favorited, follow or reviewed, it means a lot :) Until the next chapter, reviews are always welcomed**


	6. Chapter 6

POV: Dawn

It's been two weeks since that fun night of bonfires and star gazing. Since then I have been up and down every part of Beach City, I'm starting to remember it like the back of my hand. Tucker tags along for all my jobs now, not that I'm complaining, he's great moral support even if he's a sleep half the time. I never thought I would get lucky enough to find a place and a job that I love but I guess I've been dealt a good hand, for the time being anyways.

The old theater was a usual stop for me every few days and it was coming along great. Sometimes Jamie would stop by and help, after he was done with mail route. We repainted the outside and I was just getting started on the inside. I decided to start with the stage itself first because it would be used and saw the most.

I was putting in the final nails in a squeaky floor board I was fixing up and I was about to check the rest of the floor when my phone started to go off. Looking at the screen I saw it was no one other than the mayor.

"Hello Mayor Dewey. What can I do for you?"

"Good afternoon Ms. Bird. I know this might sound a bit strange but do you have any idea how to fix television frequencies?"

He was right, that was a down right strange question.

"I can't say I do. Why?"

"It seems that everyone in Beach City and the surrounding counties are all getting a message of some kind on every channel. And no matter what they try it won't go away."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that but I really have no idea how all that tech works." I told him, trying to process what he was saying.

"Wait! Hold on! My television is back to normal! Never mind Ms. Bird. Sorry to have troubled you."

"It's no trouble Mayor. Well I had better get back to work."

"Yes. You do that. Have a good day Ms. Bird."

"You too sir."

That wasn't the last of the T.V. troubles. The only reason I know this is because two days in a row, after the Mayor called, the people of Beach City called and asked if could fix their T.V.'s and I had to disappoint them. On the fourth day of this television epidemic I was completely ready for another phone call having to do with someone's T.V. but the phone call never came and it would seem all the T.V. frequencies were finally back to normal.

After five straight days of working on the theater's back stage floors the area was finally done. Heading home, I was about to call the Mayor about the great progress when my phone started to ring and I saw it was Greg. I couldn't help but hope he was inviting me to another night of star gazing. I diffidently needed a breather after working my butt off.

"Hey Greg. What's up?"

"Just packing up the van. I was wondering if you would want to go on a small road trip with Steven, Garnet and me? We're going to Keystone and we have enough room for another person."

"That sounds like fun. When are you leaving?"

"Tonight. Sorry for the short notice but Steven mentioned that you might want to tag along."

"Just let me call my boss and I'll call you back."

"Okay. Talk to you in a bit."

Calling Mayor Dewey, I was planning on what I was going to say and I hoped that he would let me go on this road trip.

"Hello Ms. Bird. What can I help you with?"

"I have great news Mayor Dewey. The back stage of the old theater is officially done."

"That is great news! I'm glad to hear that."

"I hate to ask this of you sir but I was hoping I could take two days off."

"I don't see any harm. You've been working hard Ms. Bird; I think you deserve a little time off. Just please remember to turn off your work phone so all calls will be forwarded to my answering machine and they will be waiting for you when you get back."

"Thank you so much sir! I'll get right back to work after I get back. I promise." I told him, grinning from ear to ear.

"I trust you Ms. Bird. Don't worry and have fun doing whatever it is you'll be doing. I'll see you in two days."

"Thank you sir. See you in two days."

"Bye, Ms. Bird."

I was about to my place when I was done talking to Mayor Dewey. Before I had a chance to call Greg back and tell him the great news I saw his van parked out front, next to my mail box. Steven waved at me with a wide grin on his face.

POV: Greg

Dawn waved back at Steven with an excited smile on her face. She pulled her truck into the small garage and before I could start wondering what answer she got from Mayor Dewey I got a text.

' _I'm packing a bag. I'll be right out :D'_

"Was that Dawn? Is she coming?" Steven asked, jumping in his seat.

"She sure is kiddo. She's just packing a few clothes from the trip."

A short time later Dawn joined us in the van and we were on our way. Steven insisted she took his seat and he sat in the back with Garnet. He was out like a light within minutes. Garnet just sat quietly in the back.

"So where is that little cat of yours?" I asked.

"I left him home. But don't worry I got him a self-filling cat dish, a few days back, and I also left him several bowls of water out. He's litter box trained but if all else I just put in a small cat door for him, so he can go outside if he needs to." She explained.

"Wow. You planned for everything didn't you?" I chuckled.

"Sure did." She smirked. "Okay. You asked me a question, so I get to ask you one. Why are we going to Keystone?"

"Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you. I'm getting car wash brushes for really cheap from this guy on the internet."

"The internet? Sounds a little sketchy."

"Yeah I know but for the price of those brushes I couldn't pass it up."

"Well it seems like you need someone to tag along, just in case if this guys a creep."

"Are you sure? I mean you can stay in the motel with Garnet and Steven if you want to." I offered but I was secretly hoping she would keep me company, just on the off chance the guy was a weirdo.

"I'm sure. I would rather make sure you're not cut into pieces." She smirked.

"Thanks for watching my back."

"No problem. Mind if I chose a CD?"

"Go ahead."

She put in one of my _Elton John_ CDs and for the rest of the ride we were in a comfortable silence. The had set an hour before we reached the motel. Steven woke up as I pulled up to our room and he was once again jumping in his seat from excitement. He ran straight into the room and jumped on the bed. Checking for bed bugs I was happy to find we were bugless. Dawn was waiting by the door, waiting for us to head out once again. I got a text from the car brush guy and I ushered Dawn out the door.

"If we're not back in an hour call the police." I told them before heading out myself.

"So where are we meeting this guy at?" She asked, climbing back into the van.

"We're meeting him at this small strip mall. At least that's where he said we'd meet."

"Hopefully there'll be a pizza joint or something nearby. I'm getting hungry."

"You and me both. I'm sure Steven won't mind having some pizza for dinner."

"What about Garnet? What food does she prefer?" Dawn asked.

"Garnet really isn't that picky. She'll probably eat whatever we get." I told her.

"Then I guess we'll just have to find a pizza place."

"Sounds like a plan. If you see one on the way. Just say the word and I'll pull over."

"Gotcha boss." Dawn said giving me a serious look and giving me a salute. I chuckled at her and once again we were left in a comfortable silence.

"So random question and you don't have to answer it," Dawn said, turning down the music. "But where is Steven's mom?"

I was a little taken aback by such a personal question but I knew she didn't mean harm by it.

"Sorry if that's too personal. I have this real problem of asking really personal stuff without thinking twice about it." Dawn spoke up. Looking over I saw she was looking out the window, the tips of her ears were red probably from feeling embarrassed.

"Oh no. Don't worry. It's just, I haven't been asked that in so long. It caught me off guard." I explained. "Rose, Steven's mom, died giving birth to him."

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. You didn't have to tell me."

"Don't worry about it. If I didn't want to tell you I wouldn't have."

For a few minutes there was nothing but an awkward silence between us.

"I'm sorry about your wife." Dawn whispered. "Truth be told I honestly thought you were going to say that she left you and Steven. I never thought that she would be gone. My own mother left my dad and me when I was about Steven's age. And I guess that's the first thing I assume when it comes to mothers when they're not in the picture."

Dawn's face was placid with no real emotion showing but I could see by the look in her eyes that it still hurt her. I wanted to say something to make her feel better but I didn't have the slightest idea where to start.

"But if she hadn't left me my life could have turned out differently and I love my life so I guess it's not all bad." She said, smiling a little. "Now don't go frowning Greg. I asked you a personal question and you gave me an answer. I was just evening it out. Something personal for something personal. An eye for an eye."

"Fair enough but enough of these sad stories. How about you tell me how you got that tabby of yours?"

"Awe yes. The story of how Tucker and I became partners in crime. I've literally known him since the day he was born. His mom, she was a stray, snuck into my dad's garage and gave birth in there. Oh my goodness. My dad was so surprised to hear five little meowing kittens in there and he said I could choose one to keep as an early graduation present. He was born a month before I graduated high school and I was over the moon. But you see I never picked Tucker, he picked me. Ever since he was a kitten he followed me everywhere and he wasn't able to sleep unless it was next to me. Soon enough I fell in love and that's all she wrote."

Glancing over I saw a soft smile on Dawn's face and the pained look in her eyes were long gone. Once again we were talking about anything and everything until we reached the small strip mall. It was obvious the guy I was getting the brushes off of was here because he had them in the bed of his pickup truck. We were also pleasantly surprised to find a small mom and pop pizza place in between a nail salon and a bank.

"What luck! Why don't I go get the pizza while you take care of the car brushes?"

"Sounds like a good idea. Just let me give you money for the pizza." I told her reaching for my wallet but she put her hand on mine to stop me.

"I got it Greg. I don't mind. What should I get and what size?"

"A large extra cheese pizza should work."

"Okay. I will be back. With pizza." She beamed.

As it turned out the guy who was selling the brushes was an older man, Mr. Turner, who was retiring and looking for some extra cash. He was kind enough to help me tie the brushes to the top of my van and make sure they were secure when Dawn came out of the pizza place with the piping hot pizza.

"Do you two gentlemen need any help?" She asked.

"Nope, we got it young lady." Mr. Turner told her with a wink.

"Well young sir, if I didn't know any better I would say you were a flirt." Dawn winked back before she got into the van.

"Thanks again Mr. Turner." I told him, shaking his hand.

"It's no problem sonny. And by the way I don't know how you caught such a sweet young thing but keep doing whatever you're doing." His old blue eyes twinkled behind his glass. He gave me a pat on the shoulder and shuffled his way back to his truck, mumbling something about young love. I stood there dumbfounded, blushing like an idiot.

POV: Dawn

Greg got into the van and it looked like he had been blushing but I kept my mouth shut. After how insensitive earlier with my questioning I figured it was best I kept my mouth shut. As we pulled up to the motel I saw that Steven was outside and not looking happy. That's when he told Greg that Garnet split up.

"What do you mean Garnet split up?" I finally spoke up.

"Maybe you should sit down first." Greg said, gesturing to the front of the van. That's when Greg and Steven explained that Garnet, Steven's mother, Pearl and Amethyst were crystal gems. They've been protecting the earth for thousands of years and Steven was half alien, half human.

"Wow…okay. That is a lot to process. Just give me a second."

"Take all the time you need." Greg said.

After a half hour of processing what I was told I finally accepted it as it was and went to go have pizza. I was a little surprised when a red girl, Ruby and a blue one, Sapphire was there but I soon got it figured out that that they were the beings that made up Garnet. They both seemed upset so I just minded my own business.

That night when we headed to bed, I took one bed by myself while Steven and Greg took the other. Ruby spent the night in the empty pool and Sapphire sat on my bed. During some part of the night I felt someone looking at me and I awoke to see Sapphire was holding my necklace. Neither of us said a word but I had a feeling that she wanted to. She silently let go of my necklace and I fell back into a light sleep.

The next morning could have gone better. We all went to a diner, Greg insisted he buy because I got the pizza and I thought it was fair so I agreed. I sat next to the window on Greg's and Steven's side of the booth, with Ruby and Sapphire on the other side. I was to focused on eating my food because the next thing I knew Ruby had over thrown the table and Steven stomped his way out of the restaurant. Ruby and Sapphire followed, which left Greg and I to face the manger. Who was a very severe looking older woman.

"What on earth happened here?!" She shrieked. I cringed and sunk lower into my seat.

"Just a little mishap." Greg chuckled nervously. Clearly sacred of the woman, not that I blame him.

"Just a little mishap?! That is complete bull!" She yelled. Her grey hair which was coming out of its pony tail was looking crazier by the second.

"I am completely sorry ma'am. We didn't mean for this to happen. We'll pay for whatever needs repaired." I offered, with my best smile. She looked down her nose at me, looking really pissed off at that point but she took my offer.

Garnet became herself again, which I guess meant Ruby and Sapphire made up. We didn't have any more hiccups on our way home. And Greg was kind enough to drop me off first.

"Thanks for inviting me." I smiled.

"It was no problem. I'm sorry for all the drama." Greg said, looking a little awkward.

"Don't worry about it, I had fun. I hope I can hang out with all of you real soon. Just give me a call." I told him before getting out of the van.

I waved at them until they were out of sight. Heading into my house, I couldn't help but hope that Greg would call sooner rather later because this trip just proved how interesting his and Steven's family truly was. And I could not wait to learn and see more of them.

* * *

 **Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated but I was busy with life and rewriting the first five chapters. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Oh and if you couldn't tell the T.V.'s messing up was from the Steven Universe episode 'Cry for help.' And the last part was from the episode 'Keystone.' Anyways I do not own Steven Universe, the only characters I do own are Dawn and Tucker. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and all reviews are welcomed! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

POV: Dawn

"Oh my gosh! Can you believe that I am directing my first play?! What if I mess up?!" Jamie once again was panicking while I was building the outside stage for said play. His outburst almost made me smash my thumb with the hammer I was using and I had to take a few deep breathes to keep my temper in check.

"We've been through this Jamie. You're going to be great and your just over thinking…again." I sighed in frustration. After three straight days of hearing the same thing a thousand times in a row and working nonstop on a stage that was a pain in the ass, I was at the end of my rope. Jamie, who had quickly become one of closest friends, apparently couldn't sense that what I was feeling because he was saying how I was only saying that because I was his friend. Rolling my eyes at his words I kept my eyes on my work, trying to drown out everything else.

"And I haven't even put up the fliers for the try outs!"

"Jamie!" I shouted, throwing my hammer down and facing him. For the first time in the past three days he was quiet. He looked a little taken aback by my outburst. "Get a hold of yourself. I know you're worried but for goodness sakes! You're the mailman of Beach City, instead of putting up fliers on the off chance that anyone will see them, why don't you give each person on your route a flier and call it a day?"

I bent down to pick up my hammer but before I could, Jamie's arms wound around my waist and he was spinning me around.

"Dawn! You're amazing! Why didn't I think of that!" He cheered before placing me back on solid ground. "Look at the time! I had better get going! I'll see you later!"

"See ya, goofball." I called, laughing at his antics.

It was around two in the afternoon when I was finally done with the stage itself. All I needed to do now was hook up the mics and see if Greg had any stereos I could borrow. Walking over to my truck I saw Tucker was still sun bathing on the top of the hood. Picking him up I put him in the passenger seat and started the drive over to Greg's car wash.

Pulling up in front, I saw Greg was sitting out front in a lawn chair strumming a guitar. With his sun glasses on I couldn't tell if his eyes were open or not. My question was answered when a lazy smile appeared on his face and he gave me a short wave. Parking my truck, I saw that the car wash was as bare as a ghost town.

"Hey Dawn. Tucker. What's up?" Greg asked as I was walking up.

"Nothing. Just finishing up work on the outdoor stage for Jamie's first big play."

"I bet that's exciting." He grinned, taking off his glasses.

"You would think so but no. To be frank I was hoping you would have some speakers that I could borrow? Just for a couple of days until the play is over."

"I think I can hook you up with something." He said, trying to push his way out of the chair but was doing a horrible job of it. I offered him a hand up, which he took looking a little embarrassed.

"I'm not always this feeble. I guess I've been sitting for too long and my back didn't want to work with me."

"You're fine Greg." I smiled. My necklace felt hot against my skin but the moment I let of his hand it stopped. Some part of me wanted to take his hand in mine to see if it would happen again but I let the thought go.

"So you're here for some stereos. Let's go see what I have in the van." I followed him around back of the car wash, Tucker jumped up on my shoulder, enjoying the ride.

"Can you believe it's been over a month since we went to Keystone?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, it seems like it happened a week ago but we had fun didn't we?"

"You know we did. Plus, it was the same time I found out about the Crystal Gems and one can't easily forget something like that. Which by the way I have yet to meet Pearl and Amethyst. Are they nice?"

"Oh yeah. Their pretty great. I mean I've known them since I was twenty-two so it's hard to picture a life without them to be honest." He explained while he opened the back door of the van. I looked inside and saw several large stereos.

"Would these work for the play?" Greg asked, patting one of the stereos. Tucker took that as his cue to jump off my shoulder into the back of the can and started to rub up against everything within reach.

"That's exactly what I was hoping for! Jamie is going to be so excited!" I cheered unable to hold back my enthusiasm. "Do you really not mind me borrowing them?"

"It's no problem. I know you'll take good care of them."

"Thank you Greg!" I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Once again my necklace felt hot and I slowly pulled away from Greg, my hands resting on his shoulders. Looking up I saw a light blush come across his face.

"Are you feeling okay Greg?" I heard myself whisper. Up close I could see his warm, brown eyes had little specks of green and they looked beautiful.

"Yeah. I'm just…wow. It's really hot today." He said, chuckling softly and backing away. My hands fell from his shoulders and it felt like a bucket of cold water was poured down my spine. I shook my head and tried to figure out where those thoughts came from.

"What do you think of the heat today?" Greg asked, acting like I wasn't just acting weird and I was thankful for that.

"I-I think you're right. I heard on the news today it was one of the hottest days of the year today." I was lying through my teeth. It wasn't hot at all in fact it was a pleasant day with a slight ocean breeze but I wasn't about to say that. Chancing a glance over at Greg I saw he was acting the same.

' _I guess I was the only one that felt anything.'_ I thought to myself.

"Dawn…Dawn…Hey Dawn!" I jumped from Greg's voice and he was waving his hand in front of my face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking concerned.

"Yes. I'm fine. Sorry. My mind is wondering a way without me it seems." I smiled.

"Okay? I was just asking if you would like to pull your truck around so we can get the speakers in the back?"

"Yeah. That sounds like a good idea! I'll just go get my truck. Over there." I knew I sounded like a complete moron. I was trying my best to sound normal but I was failing horribly. Before I was completely out of Greg's eye sight I tripped on my own feet but I caught myself before I did face plant.

"I'm okay!" I laughed, looking back I saw he was smirking at me and shaking his head. Once I was safely in my truck I put my forehead to the steering wheel. Getting my necklace out from under my shirt and I looked at. I'm not sure I was looking for but some part of me knew that it had something to do with what happened to my mind when I hugged Greg. After a few seconds of nothing happening, I put it back and sighed.

"The heat has gone to my head." I mumbled under my breath.

* * *

POV: Greg

Once I was sure Dawn was out of sight I let out a sigh and rubbed my forehead. Her cat meowed at me from the ground, his green eyes burning into mine. Reaching down I patted his head and smiled as he started to purr softly.

"It should be illegal for someone to be that adorable." I whispered. Tucker meowed in response. "I wonder what came over me. You would have thought I've never been hugged by a girl before. But there was something in her eyes when she pulled away, almost like she wanted to kiss me or something. But that's nonsense! There is no way, someone as beautiful and young as her would want me like that."

Before I could continue my one-sided conversation, Dawn came around to the back with her old pickup truck. I helped her back up to the back of the van. Working together we got the three large stereos in the back.

"Thanks again Greg. It means a lot." Dawn smiled.

"Anything for a starving artist. Been there, done that."

"Oh yeah, Steven mentioned that you play and write songs. I bet that's fun."

"It is. Once you get the music bug it never truly leaves." I grinned.

"I wish I could learn how to play guitar."

"You know; I could always teach you. If you wanted me to that is." I offered.

"Really? You would be willing to teach me?" She asked excitedly. For a brief fraction of a moment I thought it was endearing but I let it leave my mind.

"Of course I would be! I tried to give guitar lessons a few months back but it didn't take off."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that but that just means I get all of your attention." Dawn giggled

"Of course I would be! I tried to get a little guitar lesson going a few months back but it didn't take off."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear but that just means I get all of your attention." Dawn said, punching my shoulder lightly.

"I guess you could put it that way." I smiled bashfully.

"When do you think we could start these guitar lessons?"

"How about tomorrow? Around 4?"

"That works! Well I had better head back over to the stage. Thanks again and I'll see you tomorrow for our lesson."

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

* * *

POV: Dawn

"Wow! The stage looks amazing!" Jamie exclaimed from the stage floor. I was up on the latter getting the mics hooked up in the rafters and after that I would be done. After getting the stereos set up last night I called it a day. I came back first thing in the morning to finish hooking up the mics.

Looking down at Jamie I saw once again he had gone into one of his drama zone moments, standing right in front of one of the large speakers. Tucker was weaving in between his legs and I saw a perfect moment for a prank. Clearing my throat softly, I took a deep breath and shouted into the mics.

"TESTING! TESTING! 1! 2! 3!" My voice boomed through the speakers. Jamie jumped twenty feet into the air and Tucker ran to the safety of the truck. I couldn't stop laughing for the next minute but Jamie being the awesome person he was laughed along. Tucker had yet to come back out from under the truck so I figured he was still mad.

"You suck you know that!" Jamie said before blowing a raspberry.

"Oh so mature." I muttered before blowing my own raspberry. Looking around at the finished stage I couldn't help but feel a little proud. It looked like a professional stage.

"I can't believe it. This is where my first play is going to be. And it's all thanks to your hard work Dawn." Jamie smiled.

"Nah. It wasn't all me, I borrowed the speakers from Greg and it's thanks to Mayor Dewey that this is happening at all." My phone started to ring. "Speak of the devil. Hello Mayor Dewey. What can I do for you?"

" _Hello Ms. Bird. I was hoping you would be able to help the newest resident with a small leak he's having with his kitchen sink?"_

"Sure sir. No problem. What's the address?" I wrote down the street and number on the palm of my hand. "Okay. I'll be right on it."

" _Thank you Ms. Bird."_

"No problem sir." I ended the call and looked over at Jamie to see he was still admiring the stage. "I guess I have to help a new resident. Did someone else move to Beach City recently?"

"Now that you mention it, yes. Because I got a new place on my mail route recently. Some Mr. Lacey or something. Seems like a jerk. At least he was one to me. Be careful Dawn and if you need any back up just call." Jamie said looking me in the eyes. For the first time acting completely serious.

"Will do but I can handle myself. I'll see you later goofball."

"See yeah gooffus."

Tucker at some point got out from under the truck because he was lying down in the passenger seat, fast asleep. Making my way back to the garage I grabbed my tool box and looked down at the address on my palm. Considering it was only noon I had plenty of time before my first guitar lesson so I wasn't worried about missing it.

I finally found my way to the address which was a one floor flat, only a few blocks away from Fun Land. It was a cute little place. I didn't bother to wake Tucker from his cat nap, I grabbed up my tool box and headed to the front door. It only took a few seconds before someone answered the door and it was the last person I wanted to see.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't that cutie I helped move in a few months back. How have you been doll face?" Mr. Lance smirked. His fox like face gave me the same chill as last time but I tried my best to keep my face passive.

"I'm fine. Mayor Dewey said that you had a leak in the kitchen sink." I explained. Keeping everything strictly professional.

"Oh so you're here to fix it? And here I thought an old bald guy was going to come and fix it, I guess it's my lucky day." He said with a wink.

' _Yeah and my worst.'_ I thought to myself.

"Come on. I'll show you where you'll be working." The way he said it made me feel like I was going to be watched real closely as I worked and another shiver went down my spine. Following him through a spacious living room into a decent sized kitchen I saw that the bottom doors to the sink were open and a bucket was placed under the leaky pipes.

Pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I laid down on the floor and I saw that it was a simple thing to fix. A piece of pipe was rusted through and had to be replaced. Thank God, the less time I had to spend around Mr. Lance the better. Standing back up I saw he was staring at my butt. The one day to wear jean shorts, had to be when I was around a pervert. At least I had a t-shirt on instead of a tank top.

"Mr. Lance my eyes are up here." His eyes met mine and I could that his mind was anywhere else but talking to me. "The first I need to do is to turn off the water. If you're excuse me." I stepped past him and I almost felt him undressing me with his eyes. After I turned the water off, I came and saw that Mr. Lance was leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Mr. Lance. I can do this without you in the room."

"Hey enough of this Mr. Lance stuff call me Keith." He said, while running a hand through his short blonde hair. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at him.

"I'm from down south Mr. Lance and I was raised to think it was rude to use someone's first name without rightfully knowing them." I said, trying to be polite.

I laid down under the sink and started to take apart the rusted old pipe and replace it will new one which thankfully I was smart enough to bring all different sizes of pipes when I heard it was a leaking problem.

"Well, guess what sweetheart. You are no longer down south so I think that rule doesn't apply here." Mr. Lance said, his voice was muffled from under the sink so I acted like I couldn't hear him. After a few minutes of putting the new piece of pipe back on I leaned up and saw that at some point Mr. Lance had gone away. Sighing in relief I got up and looked around.

"Mr. Lance! I fixed the leak, I'll just turn your water back on and I'll be on my way." I shouted. Hoping he would be able to hear me. Gathering up my tools rather quickly, I headed to his small basement to turn the water back on. After doing that I was about to leave when I felt someone put their hands on my hips. Pushing the hands away, I turned around and saw Mr. Lance with an animalistic look in his eyes.

"I would appreciate if you would keep your hands to yourself." I said, glaring daggers at him. Mr. Lance chuckled softly and took a step towards me and I took one back step back.

"Oh come on babe. Don't act like you don't want me." He reached forward to try to touch me again and I side stepped him. "There's no lame old guy to get in my way this time."

"How dare you! That old man is more of a gentleman then you will ever be!" I shouted. Before he could take another step towards me I hit him across the head with my tool box and made a sprint for the stairs. I felt his hand grab around my ankle but I kicked him off and quickly got back up. There was no telling what he would do if he got a hold of me.

I felt he was on my heels, I made it to my truck and didn't look back. My phone started to go off but I didn't even bother answering it. Before I could figure out where I was driving I found myself in front of Greg's car wash. I don't remember parking or turning off the truck but Tucker climbed into my lap and licking at the cheeks. Looking at the side mirror I saw tears were sliding down my face.

"Dawn? Are you okay?" Greg was standing at my passenger window, concern written all over his face. I opened my mouth to say I was fine but nothing came out. And before I knew I was sobbing. I covered my face with my hands. At some point Greg got into the truck and his hand was rubbing my back. Without a second thought I moved over to the center seat and leaned against him. His arms cocooned around me and I felt safe.

"What happened Dawn?" Greg asked, his voice sounding so gentle and soft.

"I…I didn't know…what was going to happen…if I didn't get away." I said, when I finally calmed down enough to talk. Instead of asking what I was talking about Greg's arms tightened around me and softly rubbed my back.

"I was so scared. He wasn't going to stop." I whispered.

"Who scared you Dawn? What was he going to do?" Greg softly pushing me away so he could look me in the eye. I must have looked awful but the way he was looking at me with such concern look in his eyes, seemed like he could have cared less.

"Keith Lance. The guy who was one of the movers. He moved here and I fixed a leaky pipe for him but he was getting grabby. I don't know what he would have done if I didn't get away." I muttered softly. Greg's arms tightened around me and everything fell silent between us.

"Listen to me Dawn…" Greg whispered and pushed gently away so he could look me in the eyes. "As long as I'm around that guy is never going to hurt you. Do you understand?" I nodded in understanding and leaned back against him.

I don't know how long we say in my truck and I didn't care. Greg was making all of my fears melt away and he didn't ask any other questions which I was thankful for. It was also in this moment of comfort that I realized I had fallen for Mr. Greg Universe. And I could not have been more thrilled or terrified.

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 **Hey everyone! I hoped you like chapter. And the play that Jamie is talking about is the one from the episode 'Historical Friction'. I do not own any of the Steven Universe characters. I'll update as soon as possible. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

POV: Greg

The night air is crisp and chilly as I make my way through the streets of Beach City. I'm just trying to calm myself down. In retrospect, I should have put on tennis shoes because my feet were freezing in my flip flops but I didn't think about it. Better yet I should have just drove instead of walk but I knew that if I had I would have went straight to that bastard Lance's place and kicked his ass. Just thinking about the prick brings back the anger I'm trying to walk out and my cold feet were once again forgotten.

A few hours ago-

It took a good hour for Dawn to calm down enough to tell me the whole story. I listened quietly as she told me how he put his hands on her and tried to take advantage. She hit him across the face with her tool box and made a run for the door, which thankfully she did make it but the thought of, 'what is she didn't make it?' did cross my mind and it made me want to wrap her up in my arms again.

"I…I've never been a situation like t-that. It was terrifying." She spoke in a whisper. Her eyes were glued to the floor and she was going through the motion of petting her cat but I had a feeling if the little guy was to move her hands would continue to doing the motions, which made me uneasy about leaving her alone.

"Hey. Why don't I drive you home? And if you want I can sleep on the couch?" I offered. Her eyes finally came up to meet mine and for the first time since I found her in her truck looking scared shitless there was a little bit of hope shining through the tears.

"Are you sure? I-I don't want to bother you more then what I already have." She added meekly, looking away from me once again. I felt my shoulders slump. I've never seen this part of Dawn, looking so helpless and meek. I wanted to do nothing but protect her with everything that I had but she didn't seem to understand that.

"Hey." I whispered. She still didn't look at me so I slowly reached over and placed my hand over hers. She finally stopped putting her cat, who gave me a thankful look, she wouldn't raise her head.

"You are not a bother Dawn. You're scared and I want to do everything I can do to help you. That is only if you want me to though. Do you want me to come stay the night at your place? You don't have to say anything, just nod or shake your head."

After a few moments of nothing Dawn nodded her head and I let out a small sigh of relief. Truth be told if she wasn't going to let me stay in the house I would have parked my van in her drive and slept there. There was no way I was going to let this young woman feel afraid while I'm around. I left for a moment to grab a few things out of my van, while I stepped away Dawn settled herself into the passenger seat and we were on our way to her place.

As I drove I stole a few glances at her and saw that the cat had fallen asleep on her lap. The blank look on her face was unsettling. The idea that some scum bag could make a woman act that way my blood boil but I kept my thoughts to myself, as I least I thought I did until I heard Dawn whisper.

"If your careful Greg you might break my steering wheel." Looking down at my hands, my knuckles were white from holding the wheel so tight. Loosening them, I gave Dawn a small smile and chuckled.

"Sorry about that. I guess I was spacing out." I was afraid I made her upset from behavior until a small smirk graced her face.

"It's okay. I tend to space out while driving too."

I let myself relax a little bit, she was starting to act like her normal self. Still feeling the rage running through my veins I tried to take a calming breath hoping it would help me calm down. It didn't.

Upon getting back to Dawn's place. I parked the truck in the garage and walked her inside, giving her plenty of personal space. The cat was now wide awake and bounded ahead of us. If it wasn't for the circumstance I would call him cute but it just wasn't the right time or place. As we slowly made her our way through the kitchen to the living room I saw that dark made Dawn uneasy, so I turned on all the lights in the living room. She sat down on the couch and instantly that cat of hers was by her side.

"Listen Dawn." Kneeling I gently took her small hands into mine. Her eyes locked onto mine and I was happy to see she was looking better by the minute. "Would you like me to turn on the rest of lights in your house?"

"Yes. Please." She softly said with a genuine smile. It was small but it was something.

"Okay. I'll be right back." I pushed myself up and started for the stairs. Going room to room I turned the lights on while checking each one as I went but that was more for myself then for Dawn. It only took a few minutes and I was right back down stairs. I stopped short on the last step, the sight before me melted my heart. The cat at some point must have brought Dawn a toy of his because she had a ribbon in her hand, the cat was acting wild for it and for the first time that night Dawn looked happy. She must have felt my eyes on her because her gaze looked on mine.

"The lights are all on my lady." I said, taking a seat beside her.

"Thanks for doing that Greg. I really appreciate it." She smiled at me, not once faltering from the game she and her cat were playing. I rubbed the back of my neck and felt my cheeks heat up.

"Awe. Shucks. I just turned on some lights."

"That's not what I was talking about but I do thank you for that too. No, it's just that you could have walked away from the situation but you didn't. You helped me feel safe after something so scary. You really are a great person Greg." Dawn leaned her head against my shoulder and I sat there not sure what to do. I wanted to put my arm around her but thought twice of it. Here she was baring her soul to me and there was no way I was going to take that granted.

"I think I'm going to bed. But before I do I'll go get you some blankets." Dawn stood and walked upstairs without another word. The cat surprising didn't go with her but instead he sat facing and looking up at me with wide eyes.

"What? I'm not going to hurt your girl. I'm just trying to help out so don't give me the fifth degree here." I told him, feeling stupid for being somewhat intimated by a cat. Thankfully Dawn reappeared with a tower of blankets, I was surprised that she could see where she was going. She laid the bundle on the couch and took the cat into her arms.

"If you need any more blankets or pillows they are in the hall closest upstairs. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. And I hope you sleep well on the couch."

"Don't worry about me. I'm use to sleeping in a van so I'm good." I chucked. This pulled a smile out of her so I called it a success.

"Goodnight Greg." Dawn said before making her way up stairs.

"Night Dawn. If you need me for anything don't be afraid to ask."

"Hey. That's my line but thanks." She smiled softly.

I got my bed ready with the blankets Dawn gave me and by the end the couch was quite comfy. Settling down and just about to get comfy I heard small footsteps on the stairs. Looking over my shoulder I saw Dawn now in short shorts and a big baggy t-shirt looking at me sheepishly. Getting up faster than what I thought I could, I rushed over to her worried.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I hate to ask but would you mind staying with me until I fall a sleep?" She asked. Even in the dim light of the living room I could see her blushing. I smile softly at her, trying to ignore how adorable she was acting.

"I wouldn't mind. Come on. Let's get you to bed." I said while gently guiding her back upstairs. When we got to her room, I saw she had a small table lamp on and her cat was sound asleep at the foot of her bed. She laid back down and I sat down on the edge of the bed. As she got situated in her bed I let myself take a glance around her room in the dim lighting I couldn't make out much except that she had two full book shelves filled to the brim with books.

"Nice little library you have in here." Dawn followed my gaze and smiled.

"Yeah. I love books. Ever since I was little I was collecting books. My dad always said its easy for a girl to look good but it takes practice to be interesting and have her own mind." She explained.

"Your dad sounds like a smart man."

"He is. I love him. He's my best friend as pathetic as that sounds."

"That's not pathetic. If anything, I think it's sweet that you think so highly of him." I added smiling down at her. Dawn gave me a sleepy smirk back and yawned. "Why don't you go to sleep and I'll be right down stairs when you wake up."

"Okay. Thanks again Greg. I don't know what I would so if you weren't here…." Before she could continue she fell asleep and I felt my heart melt for the second time that night. The peaceful look on her face almost made me forget about what had happened to her. Almost. Taking a deep breath, I stood up, made sure that she was tucked in tightly and turned to the cat, who was now watching me like a hawk.

"Watch her until I get back. And if you let anything happen to her I will skin you myself." I mumbled. The meowed softly and laid his head back down. Taking that as a sign that he had things covered I grabbed my jacket and started on my long, cold walk.

That's how I find myself outside in the streets of Beach City well past midnight trying to figure out if I should take this situation into my own hands. The only thing is though I don't know where the prick lives I meant to ask Dawn but I didn't want upset her more. I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I don't even notice the figure in front of me and I walk right into them.

"Ouch. Sorry about that." I mumble. It isn't until I look up that I see that it is Garnet. "Oh. Hey Garnet. What are doing out so late?"

"I could be asking you the same thing but I already know. Greg what you're feeling right now is completely valid but you should be back with Dawn. I know that you think you can help her by hurting the man that hurt her but that won't help. Get back before she wakes up and sees you gone which will be in a few hours."

"How can I go back to her knowing that I'm not helping her?" I asked. Feeling helpless.

"You honestly don't think you're helping her?" Garnet asked while putting her hands on my shoulders, I looked up at my old friend and saw a fierce look on her face. In the street light, she looked intimating.

"You are being such a great comfort to her right now Greg. You don't even know. Please go back to her and I will take care of the prick that hurt her personally. Please. Trust me on this."

"I do trust Garnet. Okay. I'll head back."

"Good. And don't worry we won't hurt the guy, we'll just make sure that he knows he's no longer welcomed in our town."

"Thanks Garnet. I owe you one."

"You won't owe me anything if you hurry on back to that woman of yours."

"Wait a minute she's not…" Before I could continue Garnet literally jumped away into the sky. Chuckling softly to myself I made my way back to Dawn's place.

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 **Sorry it took me so long to update but I took a bit of a break from writing for various reasons but I am back. I can't promise I'll update often but I'm not leaving this story or any of my stories unfinished. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I hope to see you all later. Thank you to every single person who is staying with this story it means a lot :)**


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